ESPO welcomes the Ukrainian ports as observer member

June 1, 2018 - The Ukrainian Sea Port authority (USPA) is joining ESPO as an observer member. This follows a decision of the General Assembly of ESPO, who gathered yesterday for their assembly and for the annual conference in Rotterdam. “We are very pleased to welcome USPA as an observer member in ESPO. The Black Sea is a very important part of Europe’s maritime network with ESPO member ports in Romania and Bulgaria. The Ukraine’s Association Agreement with the EU, including the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, make Ukraine’s ports an important part of the wider European transport network. USPA’s membership of ESPO is a logical consequence of the Ukraine’s strong relationship with the EU. There are already excellent working relationships between ESPO members and Ukrainian ports and I am delighted now to welcome USPA as an observer member in our organisation strengthening ESPO’s presence in the Black Sea” says ESPO Chairman, Eamonn O’Reilly. "USPA is honored to join ESPO. Since signing the Association Agreement between EU and Ukraine, we have focused on connectivity of our transport infrastructures. Through the observer membership at ESPO, USPA is continuing governmental efforts to establish mutually beneficial cooperation with the European counterparts. We are glad to join European port community and are keen to actively participate in the forming the future agenda of the port&maritime industries." says Raivis Veckagans, CEO of USPA. “I am looking forward to work with the Ukrainian ports, to inform them about the EU policy on ports, to exchange good practices and challenges and to integrate them in our network of port professionals”, adds Isabelle Ryckbost, ESPO’s secretary General. Eamonn O'Reilly (ESPO Chairman), Volodymyr Shemayev (USPA) and Isabelle Ryckbost (ESPO Secretary General) The Ukrainian Sea Port authority comprises the following 13 Seaports, located on the continental part of Ukraine in the Black Sea and Azov basins, as well as the Danube Delta: Reni, Izmail, Ust-Danube, Belgorod-Dniester, Chernomorsk, Odessa, Yuzhny, Nikolayev, Olvia, Kherson, Skadovsk, Berdyansk, Mariupol. The total capacity of those 13 ports corresponds to approximately 240 million